I read a thought provoking article today in Ad Age entitled “P&G Digital Guru Not Sure Marketers Belong on Facebook.”  It’s an interesting discussion about whether it’s possible to “monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend.”  While the article’s scope deals mostly with Facebook banner ads, applications, and the like, the potential of Facebook is not merely limited to pay-per-click ads and kitschy games.  These social media networks are helping us find organic ways to communicate messages to target audiences.  But the possibilities raise many questions.

As an agency owner, I’m concerned about not only what is possible with social networks, but also who is responsible, both internally and externally.   (i.e. Who has overview and responsibility for the budget, and who will eventually own the space – PR agencies or ad agencies ? Neither? A mixture of the above?)

At 5WPR, we spend a considerable amount of time debating, internally, with consultants and with clients, about how to best maximize a client’s brand via social media. While I am not vested in advertising, this P & G expert is certainly raising some interesting points on where Facebook and other brands go.  A few things I am sure of:  there are few agencies with a real strategy to help brands monetize online, and even fewer companies out there with real fluent plans to succeed online.  Surely that will change in the near future.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

I am a regular customer and a great tipper at a local, mid-priced restaurant near my office.  Today while eating lunch at the small (20 table) restaurant, after being greeted by name and a big smile from the manager, I ordered a salad, and instead of rice with my chicken, chopped cucumbers. When I made the request, the waiter looked at me like I was speaking Chinese and said no, we can’t substitute.  (Jean George this isn’t…)  I said I wasn’t concerned, they could charge me extra.  He said no.

I politely asked for the manager (the same one who gave me big smiles), and asked why they wouldn’t give me cucumbers.  The manager explained for 5 minutes, standing not more than 10 feet from the kitchen, why he couldn’t cut the cucumbers for me, the foremost reason being, “I can’t accommodate for all the many different substitutions that people request, because there are too many choices.”

Almost irony, on a block with perhaps 25 restaurants, as I agreed with him and said, “Yes, there are many choices, and there are also many restaurant choices.”

I paid my bill, and left… and as a business owner was sure that the business owner wouldn’t have treated a customer in the same manner.  I am sure the business owner would have bent over backwards to please a customer in such a small manner, and would be livid if an employee acted in this manner. 

Working in the service industry, I certainly don’t subscribe to the school of thought that says the customer is always right, but to not go the extra mile in customer satisfaction with the basics is simply bad business. 

Needless to say, this restaurant, where I dined at least 50 times last year, won’t need to cut me any cucumbers moving forth.  I pray that my employees always go that extra mile to give our clients the customer service they deserve.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

One of the hardest parts about managing a PR agency is inspiring employees to do their best all of the time, to be uber-focused and motivated.  It’s also about ensuring your mindset is in the right place.  As a father, and a kid at heart, when my child goes to school I want to be sure she’s excited and ready to do her best.  The biggest part of “winning” is being in the right mindset.  As a parent, I need to do my best to focus my child and excite her.  On the first day of school, kids are always excited, but how can one emulate that mindset so every day retains that?

I wish every day at work could be like the “first day of school.”  I work to maintain my focus by listening to music every single day as I walk into the building.  I choose different music depending on my mood and the tasks at hand.

Lately? “Mr. Carter” by Lil Wayne’ and “Put On” by Young Jeezy (a 5WPR client) – both about working hard and being focused.  And always, “I Did it My Way” – the Frank Sinatra or Jay Z version depending on the day – about learning to be comfortable with what you do and learning to live in your own skin.   And frankly, in the spirit of this post and the economy, “My 1st Song” by Jay Z, which for me is also about always being focused and treating every day like it’s the first (or last).

If you can always maintain that level of intensity, there’s no losing.  For me, music is an integral part of getting my head in the right place.  Just like the first day of school – focused.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

I have always been a tremendous believer in niche marketing, both vis a vis building my business and day to day client work.

Last night I attended a religious event that reminded me of this fact.   The crème de la crème of young, wealthy Hebrew speakers in the US came out for an intimate 8-hour dinner last night, followed by a 5 hour ceremony today.  Meeting very successful people who believe in similar ideas and come from similar backgrounds as me, I felt the credence and value of niche marketing.

My firm develops a significant portion of business among niches.  For example, we are the only top 50 PR agency owned by anyone under the age of 45, so we focus on 45-and-under business owners.  We have grown quickly by becoming expert in many unique niches, whether the urban marketplace, a targeted mom and baby division, our extensive representation of physicians, a cache of beverage brands, or Israeli-owned businesses.  Of course, we also do a ton of generic business, but often times, winning accounts is about knowing about which niche of brands (or business owners) you can win, and positioning yourself as the leading expert in that niche.

While they may be smaller in comparison to the mainstream marketplace, many different niches taken together add up quickly.  Even without the benefits of economy of scale, profit margins can be higher.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

I just left a meeting with the CMO of a major consumer brand who spoke of networks calling him offering free advertising (zero fee or commitment at all). Essentially the dialogue was, “Try us and if you like it then we will chat.” Confidence or desperation?  My guess is in this environment, it’s more likely to be desperation.  How will this offer affect advertising on this station in the future ?

Which leads to the question: how important is brand integrity when it comes to marketing or PR?  While certain luxury flagship stores will never “officially” discount (Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc.), choosing to burn their goods rather than discount them, other brands discount heavily and readily. Neiman Marcus stepped up discounts and promotions after dismal same-store sales.

During times such as these, brands have many questions and concerns vis a vis brand integrity.  Do we lower prices and cover costs, or do we go deep into our pockets in hopes of a better tomorrow?  It’s an interesting dialogue, and one I’m sure we’ll hear more of.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

During these trying economic times, I am overwhelmed with resumes from people who are seeking employment, most of whom I don’t know.  Which is why I cannot overstate the continued importance of networking at all levels of one’s professional development, so it’s not a “cold call” when you need something. I make an effort to continually attend networking events multiple times a week, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of people I know, which of course will be beneficial to my PR firm.  I believe the simple concept that the more people one knows, the easier it is to be successful.

It’s very important to continuously network and make an effort to meet new people, so you aren’t only calling on people when you are looking to “sell.” Network with the intent of meeting quality people, and giving as well as getting.  Networking has allowed me to build 5WPR into an INC 500 company, and one of the 25 largest independent PR agencies in the US, without ever making a new business call or having a dedicated new business department.  We have grown our business entirely through networking, referrals and helping our clients with introductions.

Part of the trick is finding the right event.  For example, 5WPR hosts very high profile speakers in our office once a month, and we host private events with 20 people or so where we introduce our contacts to one another.  Giving and receiving is the only way that networking properly works.

Network… all the time.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

Being a boss and owner of a company is a huge responsibility, one which requires being tough and making difficult decisions regularly.  To this day, employing 75+ people is major pressure.

Today I received a call from a major crisis client, one who pays us a major fee solely to keep his company out of the media.  He urged me (to put it mildly) to tell a reporter in no uncertain terms to screw off.  This reporter was poking around endlessly, telling people half truths and straight-out lies about our client in an attempt to get sources quoted for a story.  A previous story by this same reporter had no named sources and many allegations.  I understood why this client was very upset.  So, of course, I harshly approached this reporter, instantly turning into “the bad guy.”  He was poking around in a kind way, and once we got tough, we were the “bad guys.”

Whether it’s (soon to be) President Obama banning reporters who didn’t endorse him from his plane, or the Fox News PR machine being harsh on critics, often times tough PR people are portrayed as not knowing how to deal with the media.  But in fact, these “tough guys” are perhaps the most effective PR people when it comes to difficult issues.

Same goes with owning a business and running a company: being tough isn’t easy.  But it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a modicum of fairness.  Being fair is vital to being tough, both as a business owner, and particularly when it comes to issues and crisis PR.

I complain sometimes to my closest outside business advisor about how difficult it is to run a business.  He reminds me, “If it was easy, everyone would do it, and everyone would be successful.”

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

Courtesy of today’s Bulldog Reporter/Daily Dog, Ronn Torossian featured …

PR Will Win No Matter Which Candidate Wins the Election: Presidential Campaigns Offer Lessons for Communications Industry, Underscore Its Rising Influence
 
Talking politics and PR with Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5W Public Relations

“Whether Obama or McCain is the President tomorrow, I believe the PR industry is a winner in this election,” said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations, when we called him on the eve of the election asking for his take on what many considered to be several weeks, if not months, of negative campaigning and high profile PR. “PR certainly was at the forefront this entire campaign season—and the PR business will benefit as a whole, regardless of who is voted in on Wednesday.”

“PR was proven effective across the board,” he continued. “Even something as simple as Obama using SMS texting to get out the message illustrates this. And don’t forget that this election broke limits in terms of spending—both sides spent tons on messaging and advertising, and PR was at the center of it all. Mark Penn [worldwide CEO of Burston-Marsteller and president of polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates], who was Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist, illustrates a trend I believe will continue of national high profile PR pros working front and center of campaigns.”

So who, in Torossian’s point of view, won the PR battle between the candidates? Which specific PR strategies was he impressed with this election year? And is there a role for negative PR in politics, despite all the public backlash? We posed these questions and more with the purpose not only of dredging up Torossian’s strong opinions—but also your own during this polarizing election. To that, we welcome your comments on the following:

Who won the PR war—Obama or McCain?

I think there’s no question that Obama won the PR war in a major way—and not just because of the bias of the mainstream media, which exists and is clearly pro-Democrat. Obama dominated that front from a PR perspective, even when his team had little or absolutely nothing to do with it. For example, the Tina Fey-as-Palin bit was a major PR victory for Obama. And so was the McCain-Letterman mishap, even tough those weren’t part of any official PR strategy or effort.

Beyond that, Obama did some fascinating and successful things from a PR perspective. The campaign was very effective in fighting smears. They did an excellent job early on in avoiding his being called Barak Hussein Obama by his full name. It can’t be denied that not being referenced as “Hussein” was a major victory in swing states with white, middle class voters.

How did McCain actively lose the PR war, then?

The campaign failed to define or speak powerfully to the issues which were important to him and that constituted the heart of the race in the last thirty days—namely, the economy. This became a one-issue race—and it surely wasn’t about terrorism or the War in Iraq anymore. The McCain camp didn’t make that shift effectively.

Is there a role for “negative PR” in politics?

Absolutely—it sticks in people’s minds. It works. But I thought this election would be uglier. I think, to a degree, that a woman and a black guy running at the head of two tickets made it harder for things to get nasty. The race issue and gender issue may have precluded some of the bashing that otherwise would normally have gone on. Beyond that, I will say that the media itself engaged in some questionable things. They pulled so hard for Barack—even when he was against Hillary—that is was really evident. On the other side, you watch the cable networks and easily see that an independent Fox News is very different than an independent CNN. So, it’s all “negative” and biased one way or another, and it’s all built around building and playing to perceptions. That’s the reality.

Can you think of any “negative PR” efforts the campaigns engaged in that worked?

I can think of efforts that didn’t work. Everything McCain did in a “negative PR” light just didn’t work. The whole does-Obama-wear-an-American-lapel thing went nowhere, really. There was no smoking Islam gun, nor link to Farrakhan, which were whispered for months. They really could have gone harder on certain issues, and certainly Bill Ayers or the Columbia professor vis-à-vis terrorism. So if there’s a lesson here, it’s that if you’re going to go negative, you have to push hard and see it through.

Instant polls say “negative PR” doesn’t work. But I don’t buy it. You are shaping a voter’s perception of a candidate one way or another—and if you do it right, it works. Some of these efforts just weren’t executed well.

Do you think there will ever be backlash on the practice for “negative PR” efforts?

Nope—not in reality. Bloggers may write about it, but in the practical world, I don’t believe it’s an issue. You’re not going to see any push back in reality, dollars and cents.

Ultimately, this election wasn’t about “negative PR,” however. It became about the economy. That’s it. The only thing in the media today, for example, is the economy and the election. What’s the last thing you heard about Iraq? How much news did other issues get in the last few weeks, really?

So your take is that PR has proven itself to be a power player in this election?

Yes. We’ll be winners no matter what. PR’s influence will only continue to increase in politics, and we will see more prominent PR leaders involved in major political campaigns moving forward, just like we saw this year with Penn. There will be no real backlash, and I feel strongly there will be positive forward results.

What final take away lessons does this election hold for PR readers?

Simple things like Obama’s successfully fighting smears and their efforts to try new things like using SMS in campaign outreach shows us that there’s plenty PR professionals can learn from watching the campaigns and their communications efforts. Political PR in general is a tremendous training ground for any PR person. It’s PR at its quickest and at a level of highest impact. It’s high stakes, state of the art work. Obama, in my opinion, ran a very smart campaign from a communications standpoint. Their use of social media only scratches the surface.

Brian Pittman

Among the many advantages that public relations offers marketers of products and services with complicated value propositions is its emphasis on explanation.  The conversation that is created enables substantive exchanges of ideas and information.  The intended target gets to know – and understand – the story (and hopefully a story we help to create).  The next step is what makes PR such a remarkable process; the target takes on the role of messenger, if not advocate.  The reason is obvious.  S/he has such a firm grasp of the story that it can be repeated to others with accuracy and passion.

Anyone who knows me will nod in agreement that I’m a tad impatient (to put it uber mildly).  I talk fast but listen quicker. Part of what a PR professional does is take raw thought and distill it to the essence and then frame it in a few, compelling words that will resonate.

So that brings me to a question:  How well are PR people able to communicate really complex ideas in 140 or fewer characters?  The explosion of Twitter – the microblog service that allows any and all to opine online in parcels of 140 or less letters – is a great way to get the word out very, very fast.  I’ve seen tweets on breaking news from the Fox News feed on my Blackberry many minutes before it appears on TV. 

Those publics with whom we seek to relate to are less and less able to maintain a focus.  So is this simply the new-PR of the ADD generation? The challenge for anyone in PR is to grab attention…really grab it…and hold onto the shoulders – figuratively – of whomever we need to talk with and, then, tell it straight, clear and with utter precision. 

Ronn Torossian

5WPR